


She shines me up like gold on my arm

by macapleasecallme



Category: Amar a Muerte (TV), Juliantina - Fandom
Genre: Canon Lesbian Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Juliantina Appreciation Week, Lesbian Character, One Shot, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24219796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macapleasecallme/pseuds/macapleasecallme
Summary: “Wait, you aren’t breaking up with me, are you?” Juliana half-joked.“No, of course not Juls” she gave her a reassuring smile, “It’s the opposite, actually. I kinda maybe want us to spendthequarantinetogether”“What’s that?” she chuckled.“I want us to spend the quarantine together” Valentina repeated.Juliantina Appreciation Week Day 6 - Quarantine
Relationships: Valentina Carvajal & Juliana Valdés, Valentina Carvajal/Juliana Valdés
Comments: 7
Kudos: 122





	She shines me up like gold on my arm

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't come up with a title so I picked a lyric from the song Beyond by Leon Bridges.
> 
> I've already written a Juliantina story about the quarantine but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Juliana stared at her girlfriend through the screen as she went on about the ongoing threat of coronavirus. Although the situation in Mexico wasn't by any means dire, Valentina didn't look relieved “...and everyone at work agrees as well, not to mention that Mateo is making most of us work remotely from Monday on.”

“Really? Mexico has only a few cases, isn’t that too much?”

“No mi amor, Mexico has only a few _reported_ cases. There’s a difference...” Valentina emphasized. “Hasn’t your school made any announcements yet?”

“Nope,” Juliana shrugged, “things aren’t bad here so why would they?”

“Juls I love you but you aren’t taking the pandemic seriously! Look at what’s happening in Europe. We have to be careful and not just wait until our goverment makes the right choice!”

Juliana nodded. Sure, Valentina’s words were reasonable but it’s not exactly like she could just quit school. “I believe you Val but this isn’t an option for me. Besides I don’t think I can stay away from you for forty days...”

“You know it’s probably gonna be more than that right? And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about” as she finished the sentence Valentina averted her gaze from the screen.

“Wait, you aren’t breaking up with me, are you?” Juliana half-joked.

“No, of course not Juls” she gave her a reassuring smile, “It’s the opposite, actually. I kinda maybe want us to spendthequarantinetogether”

“What’s that?” she chuckled.

“I want us to spend the quarantine together” Valentina repeated, “and hear me out first, okay? I know we agreed to take our relationship slow and wait for your graduation first but I was thinking that we should make the best of this situation and use this as a trial period.”

“A trial period?” Juliana bit her thumb.

“Yes, exactly. We’ll live together in one of my family’s properties and see how it goes. We'll judge if we’re ready to look for our own apartment in the near future and see what issues we’ll have to work on...”

“I don’t know Val” she sighed. “It’s too soon. What if we aren’t there yet?”

“We won’t know unless we try and like you said, Mexico isn’t officially on lockdown yet. If we can’t stand each other we’ll move back to our homes again and return to face-timing.” Valentina rolled her eyes playfully, as if in the midst of this pre-apocalypting world the concept of them fighting was completely absurd. “And seriously Juls, would you rather be on isolation with your parents or your amazing, hot and smart girlfriend?”

Well, Juliana couldn't counter this argument.

* * *

They spend the weekend packing and deciding from photos where they were going to move in. At first they considered the Valle house but she remembered that they’d have to take care of it entirely on their own, so Juliana persuaded her against it. It’s not that Valentina was unwilling to do chores, it’s that she was just learning the basics which meant that she was doing them at a snail’s pace.

After much deliberation, they picked the house Elena Carvajal grew up in. Valentina’s mom didn’t come from wealth meaning that it was a humble place in a quiet suburb of the city. It was a two bedroom home with a small picturesque garden, only five minutes away from the nearest supermarket and Juliana immediately fell in love with it.

The only problem was that she’d have to take two buses and the subway to go to college. But before Juliana could worry about that, she received an update that the classes were going to be taught through zoom for the foreseeable future.

They spend the first couple of days setting up the house, cleaning it thoroughly, taking care of the semi-abandoned garden, installing wifi and stocking up on food. Then, for the rest of the week they had sex.

A lot of sex.

And as much as Juliana teased Valentina about acting like a sex addicted teenager, she wasn't all that better herself. After all, it was her who decided that the best time to endlessly tease her girlfriend was while she was in the middle of a zoom conference.

Whenever they didn’t make love, Valentina worked on her articles and Juliana took up gardening which is something she soon discovered she truly enjoyed. Thanks to Chino's money, which Lupe and her had saved for emergencies like these, and Valentina giving in and letting her pay half of everything, financial troubles were out of the way. And for now, Juliana could focus on three things: school, gardening and, most importantly, Valentina.

Everything was perfect. It almost felt like a beautiful dream she’d soon have to wake up from. And for the first month the only fight they ever had was about the covers. Valentina insisted that Juliana was stealing them which she vehemently denied.

Things started to change around day forty. Juliana was sure that her girlfriend would be the first to crack under the pressure of isolation but as it turns out, Valentina was quite the homebody. She loved that it was just the two of them. Sure, she still missed her family and Guille most of all, since Leon wasn’t much around anyway, but she was content with spending every waking moment together.

In reality, Juliana was the one who started having issues.

Although she grew up in a small trailer, because of the volatile relationship her parents had, she’d usually spend all the time she could outside; be it fields, parks or wherever her feet would carry her. Juliana loved the outdoors. She loved walking, it had always been an endless source of inspiration, a way to clear up her mind. Now, the closest thing she had to that was the small garden and the short walk to the grocery store.

Another problem Juliana faced was that she needed some alone time. It’s not that she didn’t want to be around Valentina, because she really wanted that, it’s that she needed her own space and to have a time to miss her. Yes it was strange, but maybe it was the reality of being an only child.

At the beginning, Juliana wasn’t aware of all these issues. She was too busy adjusting to their new reality and enjoying every single second she could with her girlfriend. Yet she soon found herself in an irritable state.

Juliana tried not to verbalize those feelings. She certainly didn’t want to worry Valentina or make her think it was her fault, because it wasn’t. At the end of the day, it was just another by-product of their different upbringing.

Day forty came and the two of them were working on their projects. Juliana was finishing up some digital sketches for a class while Valentina was writing an article. They usually tried to do that while the other was busy with chores or online classes and zoom conferences respectively. It was Valentina’s idea to do their assignments at the same time, given that this was a test drive for their future. And for the first evening since they started living together, the house was immersed in silence.

But the thing was that Juliana couldn’t work without some kind of white noise. She grew up doing her homework while listening to music, in an effort to drown out her parents’ screaming. And even to this day it’s something that she needed in order to concentrate but she knew Valentina wouldn’t be happy with her having headphones on.

So, she went for the next best thing. She opened the television, on low volume, and let it play in the background. The results were immediate. She was finally able to focus and started sketching again.

Ten minutes later she heard Valentina clearing her throat. She shifted her gaze from the sketchpad to the couch where her girlfriend was. She was biting the inside of her mouth, a clear indication that something was bothering her. “What’s wrong baby?”

“Nothing” she replied without taking her eyes off of the screen. Juliana shrugged and was about to go on until Valentina added “do you mind turning that thing off? Please?” Her voice was polite but she could tell that she was bothered.

“Of course Val” she said and did just that.

Juliana closed her eyes and tried to concentrate again but to no avail. The only thing she could hear was the constant typing from Valentina’s laptop which was getting to every last of Juliana’s nerves. She knew she was being irrational so she opted for making some tea instead. It was better than starting a fight over nothing.

When Juliana went back to their living room she took a sip from the almost boiling hot drink and tried to refocus on her task. But her burned tongue was the least of her problems. Valentina was in a fit of inspiration and her typing had only gotten faster and louder. Without realizing it, Juliana had started tapping her fingers on the table, in an attempt not to blow up on her girlfriend for something that was entirely her issue.

“Juliana can you stop doing that noise? I’m trying to think!” Valentina snapped, leaving Juliana dumbfounded.

“You are unbelievable!”

“Seriously? I am unbelievable?"

"Yes Valentina. You type like a deaf grandma with Parkinson's and I'm the one bothering you?"

"You've got to be kidding me! First you bite your nails like it’s a five-course meal, then you turn on the tv and when I can finally work you start tapping your fingers! It’s like you’re doing it on purpose!”

“Oh you’re so right baby! You discovered my sinister masterplan! Congratulations!” Juliana retorted and started clapping.

“Very mature Juliana, very mature.”

“Says the woman with a Disney shirt!” she pointed at her Sleeping Beauty pajamas.

“I’m not doing this, I have a work to do.”

“And I don’t? Or are your articles more important that my sketches?”

“Don't put words into my mouth, you know I’d never say that...”

“I know” she admitted and for the first time since their fight they really looked at each other’s eyes. She sighed and walked closer to Valentina “Look, I can’t concentrate without music or some kind of noise and you can only work in complete silence. What are going to do about that?”

They both knew the implications behind this question. If they couldn’t be in the same room while they worked how could they expect to live in the same house in the future? After lingering silence Juliana finally offered, "We could turn the spare room into home office. We don't have to-"

"No" she shook her head. “We will compromise. You’ll wear headphones and I’ll try to type like a normal person.”

They smiled fondly at each other and Juliana moved in the couch, impossibly close to her girlfriend. "This was our first fight huh?”

"Our second. Technically" she whispered softly while burying her face on Juliana's neck.

"The covers don't count Val,” she teased, “we both know I don’t steal them."

"If that makes you feel better baby" Juliana could feel Valentina's smirk on her neck. She decided against replying, tickling her instead.

"You are dead, Juls! Dead!" she screamed. Once she managed to break free, she grabbed a cushion from the couch and attacked her.

That pillow war was their last fight for that evening.

* * *

One Saturday morning, a few days later, Juliana decided to do yoga in the garden while Valentina was on a zoom call. She was enjoying its peacefulness; the smell of the flowers, the welcoming sunrays filtering through the leafs, the cool spring breeze and the relaxing music she listened to while following the youtuber’s instructions. Soon after, Valentina followed her outside with two lemonade glasses that she put on the small glass table nearby.

“Wanna join me babe?” Juliana asked and paused everything. She walked towards her girlfriend and sat on her lap, giving her small kisses. She felt Valentina smiling and she couldn’t be more content.

“Nah, wanna join me inside instead?” she waggled her eyebrows, they both laughed and kissed again. It was a tempting offer but she shook her head, she wanted to finish her yoga session first. “Okay, then I’ll enjoy the view and proofread my article.”

Juliana went back to her previous position but something soon startled her peace. She couldn’t concentrate on her exercises because Valentina started sneezing and wouldn’t stop. To make matters worse, someone must have called her because she could hear civil but loud voices through the music. Juliana spaced out for a few minutes and she had to play a video twice. Finally, she got up and went back to the house, closing the door behind her, and went to take a shower.

When she came out of the bathroom she found the house silent. She wore a oversized white shirt, black boy shorts and searched for her girlfriend. Valentina was cooking while she humming to a slow song that was coming from her spotify playlist.

Juliana’s heart was once again filled with love and adoration. All the ridiculous irritation from before had completely dissipated. She got closer and moved Valentina’s hair to the side, kissing the most sensitive spot on her neck, just underneath her ear.

Valentina turned around and looked at her with a shy smile on her face. Juliana placed her hands on her hips and pulled her closer for a long deep kiss. A few moments later the other woman took a step back “Is everything alright mi amor?”

“Yeah. Sorry about earlier, I was being silly” Juliana shrugged and took a glimpse to what her girlfriend was cooking.

“What happened back there?”

“Nothing really, I just couldn’t finish my thing.”

“It was my sneezing, wasn’t it?” Valentina asked with a sheepish grin. Juliana took a better look on her girlfriend’s face, her eyes were puffy and her nose red from all the rubbing.

“I didn’t know you were so allergic” Juliana chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose.

“I wasn't like that a few years ago I swear” she pouted and rested her hands on Juliana’s shoulders.

“Val, the food” she said in a fake stern voice, Valentina rolled her eyes but turned back to cooking.

Juliana took in her girlfriend's features. Even though they've been together for more than a year she couldn't stop appreciating her beauty. She couldn't decide which part of her face she loved more; her bright blue eyes, her adorable nose, her dimples or her ever so inviting lips?

"What are you thinking about mi amor?" she grinned without taking her eyes off of the pan.

"You" she admitted and kissed her on the corner of her mouth.

"And?"

“And how much I love this. Us. The house. Especially, our little garden.”

“You made it perfect Juls. It’s a shame we can’t fully appreciate it.”

“Well, I can. Working out there makes me very happy actually” she tried to hide the edge in her voice. She didn’t want to make her girlfriend sad. Their eyes met and she once again remembered how perceiving Valentina was, especially when it came to her.

“I want nothing more than to see you happy Juls” she commented.

“I want you to be happy too Val, you know that don’t you?” Valentina nodded, a small smile grazing her lips “What I meant was... It’s important that we still keep a sense of independency. I don’t want you to suffer in the spring outside but I want to spend time in the garden too.”

“Hmmm...” Valentina narrowed her eyes playfully, “are you saying I’m clingy?”

“No, of course not baby. I just think that we shouldn’t become completely depended on each other. One day the quarantine is going to end and we’ll go back to our previous lives. Besides, do we really want to be _that_ couple?”

“No, I guess we don't...” she sighed. Juliana wanted nothing more than to kiss her frown away but she had to stand her ground. Valentina returned to cooking but judging by the furrow in her brows she was in deep thought.

Juliana let her be and set up the table. Once the food was ready, they started eating in silence until Valentina’s phone rang. They usually didn’t answer calls during meals but it was Eva from jail. Juliana waited and watched Valentina from the window pacing back and forth and sneezing as she chatted animatedly. She returned from outside ten minutes later and they resumed eating, only talking about the recent updates in Eva’s case

When they finished, they went to clean the dishes in uncomfortable silence. “I considered your words Juliana and I hear you. I'm sorry if I overreacted.”

“No Val, you didn't overreact. This thing we have right here is perfect and it’s very easy to lose ourselves and our individuality. I just think we need our space and to do our own thing from time to time.”

Valentina nodded “So, you aren’t tired of me?”

“I will never, ever be tired of you Val” she emphasized each word with a kiss and she felt her girlfriend ease up.

“That’s good because I’ll never get tired of you either.”

“You better not.”

Valentina’s smile widened and before she could reply she started sneezing. Unfortunately, Juliana didn't have time to take a step back and the contents of her nose landed somewhere in the white shirt. But Juliana didn’t mind. In fact she found Valentina’s deep blush and sheepish grin adorable.

“Oh my god,” she feigned concern, “this shirt is so dirty. What _ever_ will we do about it?”

With that, Juliana took off her shirt and threw it somewhere on the floor. And it was her turn to blush from the way Valentina stared at her. Like it’s the very first time she’d seen Juliana naked. Before her girlfriend could close the distance she started walking backwards and to the bedroom without breaking eye contact.

* * *

Two things happened as a result of that day.

The first was that they started working on a healthy balance between making the most of their time together while having some moments to themselves. It was still a work in progress but it was going rather well.

Juliana continued improving her gardening skills and doing yoga while Valentina started reading from her grandparents' bookshelves. Sometimes they couldn't help but want to be in each other's world. They'd do yoga inside while other times Valentina would read to Juliana which was something that never failed to relax her.

The second thing was quite unpredictable. Their home was right next to an apartment complex which meant that whenever they’re outside they could have some onlookers. While they usually tried not to show pda when they were on their garden, that day they had forgotten. And apparently someone from that building had taken photos and videos of them which they then leaked to the media.

The news circulated the grainy kissing photos that quickly went viral. Reporters either acted as overzealous shippers or went on homophobic rants. While obviously the former reaction was more welcomed than the latter, neither exactly shocked them.

A few days later though, some different kind of ‘news’ started spreading. And they weren’t nowhere near as mundane...

That day Valentina woke Juliana up in a serious, stoic way that was unlike her usual self, “Juliana we need to talk.”

“Val, what’s wrong? You’re worrying me” Juliana felt her stomach drop. Did something happen to a loved one? Did Leon find Lucia? Even without the pandemic, their lives were anything but normal...

“And you should be worried” she said and cleared her throat, “I have something horrible to tell you. I have to leave you.”

“What? What are you talking about Val?” she couldn’t believe her girlfriend’s words. This had to be a joke.

“You can’t be with someone like me. I’m dangerous.”

“Que?” she shook her head even more confused. She saw her girlfriend’s lips slowly turning into a grin. She brought her bottom lip between her teeth in an attempt to stop herself from laughing “Are you joking?”

“No, I’m serious!” Juliana put her hand on her girlfriend’s chin and forced her to meet her gaze. As soon as that happened, the older woman bursted into a loud laughter.

“You’re the worst! I hate you!”

“I’m sorry, it’s not my fault” she said between giggles, "my idiot brother dared me to!"

"Then you're a bigger idiot than him! You can't do this to me!" she whined but hugged her girlfriend, bringing her back to bed with her and peppering kisses all over her face.

Then their kissing grew more deliberate and Juliana's hand moved underneath Valentina's black shirt. Juliana smirked at the small moan she let out. Deciding to punish her, she removed her hands altogether and got off their bed. Valentina stared at her quizzically.

"That's for pulling a prank on me, first thing in the morning no less" she smiled smugly and grabbed some underwear. "What was that about anyway?"

Valentina was so busy ogling her that it took a moment to register her words. She shook her head in order to concentrate "Right, I forgot."

She grabbed her laptop from the nightstand and handed it to her. And Juliana’s mouth gaped opened with what she saw. Before her eyes stood cropped screenshots from various clickbait youtube titles and headlines next to a video from the other day which depicted Valentina sneezing non-stop while Juliana walked inside.

_Exclusive news: Valentina Carvajal has tested positive for the coronavirus!_

_Valentina Carvajal! Out! Proud! And sick?_

_Valentina Carvajal has corona: Carvajal curse confirmed?_

_Valentina Carvajal and girlfriend enjoy last moments of peace before hospitalization!_

_Trouble in paradise: Will Carvajal’s illness be the end of their relationship? What the future holds for #carvaldes?_

“ _We’re expecting the worst” anonymous source confirms coronavirus rumors._

Juliana’s eyes shifted between the screen and her girlfriend who was once again laughing. “Really?” she wondered in disbelief.

“I guess” Valentina shrugged, “that's journalistic integrity for you...”

“But this is serious, people are dying!” She couldn’t comprehend how the press took the pandemic so lightly.

Valentina wasn’t nowhere near as surprised, “I guess I have a whole mess to deal with...”

“No Val, _we_ have a mess to deal with” she corrected her and once again got up from their bed.

Valentina smiled at her words “So, you aren’t mad at me anymore?”

“Oh no, I’m super mad” Juliana said and walked to her side and offered Valentina her hand to stand up, “but I love you. Stupid pranks, sneezing and loud typing aside.”

Valentina took her hand but she pulled her back in bed instead “I love you too mi amor. Nail biting, strong immune system, blanket stealing and all.”

“I _don’t_ steal the blankets!” she whispered against her lips.

“Mhm. Keep telling yourself that” Valentina teased.

Juliana stared at her silly girlfriend with a smirk and leaned forward.

She couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with her...

**Author's Note:**

> This is my last installment for the Juliantina Appreciation Week. I want to deeply thank the organizers of this event, all the participants and everyone else who made this week so entertaining!


End file.
